Licensing new nuclear power plants, safely disposing of high-level waste, and ensuring security of existing plants are challenges identified by the NRC.

Report Confirms Safety, Security Of U.S. Nuclear Plants

  • Feb 17, 2010

One day after President Obama announced $8.33 billion in federal loan guarantees to build and operate two new nuclear reactors in Burke, Ga., the Nuclear Regulatory Commission issued its report summarizing the nuclear power industry's safety in FY2009 and also NRC's financial performance during that year. The report says NRC and the industry met all five strategic safety outcomes, all six performance measure targets, and all security benchmarks.

The five strategic safety outcomes are:

  • Prevent the occurrence of any nuclear reactor accident
  • Prevent any inadvertent criticality event
  • Prevent any acute radiation exposures resulting in fatalities
  • Prevent any release of radioactive materials that result in significant radiation exposures
  • Prevent any release of radioactive materials that cause significant adverser environmental impacts

"Inspection results show that all of the [104] nuclear power plants are operating safely. The fourth [safety performance] measure tracks the trends of several key indicators of nuclear power plant safety," the report states. "This measure is the broadest measure of the safety of nuclear power plants, incorporating the performance results from all plants to determine industry average results. The measure results show that they were no statistically significant adverse trends in any of the indicators in FY 2009. The last two safety performance measures track harmful radiation exposures to the public and occupational workers and radiation exposures that hard the environment. None of these measures exceeded their targets in FY 2009."

The security measures track unrecovered losses or thefts of risk-significant radioactive sources.

The report says the agency's primary challenges are licensing new reactors (it has not issued a nuclear plant construction permit since 1977 but has 18 operating license applications on its docket), safe disposal of high-level waste, and continuing to improve regulatory requirements to ensure the security of nuclear facilities. Besides the 104 commercial reactors operating in 31 states, NRC oversees 2,970 licenses for medical, academic, industrial, and general use of nuclear materials.

Featured

  • Report: 47 Percent of Security Service Providers Are Not Yet Using AI or Automation Tools

    Trackforce, a provider of security workforce management platforms, today announced the launch of its 2025 Physical Security Operations Benchmark Report, an industry-first study that benchmarks both private security service providers and corporate security teams side by side. Based on a survey of over 300 security professionals across the globe, the report provides a comprehensive look at the state of physical security operations. Read Now

    • Guard Services

  • Identity Governance at the Crossroads of Complexity and Scale

    Modern enterprises are grappling with an increasing number of identities, both human and machine, across an ever-growing number of systems. They must also deal with increased operational demands, including faster onboarding, more scalable models, and tighter security enforcement. Navigating these ever-growing challenges with speed and accuracy requires a new approach to identity governance that is built for the future enterprise. Read Now

  • Eagle Eye Networks Launches AI Camera Gun Detection

    Eagle Eye Networks, a provider of cloud video surveillance, recently introduced Eagle Eye Gun Detection, a new layer of protection for schools and businesses that works with existing security cameras and infrastructure. Eagle Eye Networks is the first to build gun detection into its platform. Read Now

  • Report: AI is Supercharging Old-School Cybercriminal Tactics

    AI isn’t just transforming how we work. It’s reshaping how cybercriminals attack, with threat actors exploiting AI to mass produce malicious code loaders, steal browser credentials and accelerate cloud attacks, according to a new report from Elastic. Read Now

  • Pragmatism, Productivity, and the Push for Accountability in 2025-2026

    Every year, the security industry debates whether artificial intelligence is a disruption, an enabler, or a distraction. By 2025, that conversation matured, where AI became a working dimension in physical identity and access management (PIAM) programs. Observations from 2025 highlight this turning point in AI’s role in access control and define how security leaders are being distinguished based on how they apply it. Read Now

Most   Popular

New Products

  • Camden CV-7600 High Security Card Readers

    Camden CV-7600 High Security Card Readers

    Camden Door Controls has relaunched its CV-7600 card readers in response to growing market demand for a more secure alternative to standard proximity credentials that can be easily cloned. CV-7600 readers support MIFARE DESFire EV1 & EV2 encryption technology credentials, making them virtually clone-proof and highly secure.

  • 4K Video Decoder

    3xLOGIC’s VH-DECODER-4K is perfect for use in organizations of all sizes in diverse vertical sectors such as retail, leisure and hospitality, education and commercial premises.

  • HD2055 Modular Barricade

    Delta Scientific’s electric HD2055 modular shallow foundation barricade is tested to ASTM M50/P1 with negative penetration from the vehicle upon impact. With a shallow foundation of only 24 inches, the HD2055 can be installed without worrying about buried power lines and other below grade obstructions. The modular make-up of the barrier also allows you to cover wider roadways by adding additional modules to the system. The HD2055 boasts an Emergency Fast Operation of 1.5 seconds giving the guard ample time to deploy under a high threat situation.